Steve O is spot on. Don't think you even need the Swarovski EL to get into the 99% range. The Swarovski SLC binos have pretty much the same optics but a different body style that I actually prefer, and they cost less (but are still expensive). My all time favorite is the Leica Ultravid HD. Still, that is based on lots of personal preference aspects of the binoculars, not just the optics. The best of the Swarovski and Zeiss binoculars are optically equivalent to the Leica Ultravid HD's, so take your pick on what seems to you to be the best of the best. I have been all over the world hunting with my old Swarovski SLC binoculars, and I have never thought I was at a disadvantage by not having one of my newer, more expensive, optically superior (by a little) binoculars. Like Steve says, 99% is good enough. However, I now usually pick the Ultravid HD's for my hunting trips -- I already paid for them, and they're the best.
On the other side of the optics, my favorite spotting scope is my Swarovski HD STS 80mm. There are some other spotting scopes in this class, but I prefer the totality of the features on my Swarovski over the other comparable scopes. But when it comes down to packing a spotting scope up a mountain (or many mountains) looking for sheep, I might choose the 65mm version of the scope to save weight and bulk, or even take along my little Leupold Gold Ring 60mm folded path spotting scope. One story about spotting scopes in the mountains of the Yukon Territory. My best friend, his guide and a cook rode on horseback out to an area where no hunters had been for at least 20 years, and then he and his guide hiked up higher during the days to glass the surrounding mountains for moose. My friend had purchased the Kowa Prominar 88mm scope that has outstanding optics but is not fully rubber armored like the Swarovski. He glassed with his Leica binoculars and the Kowa scope, seeing several moose at long distances, and was able to judge the antlers well enough to have an idea of their size. Finally, using the Kowa scope, he spotted a moose on a distant mountain that appeared to be huge. He would never have spotted the moose without the amazing optics of his scope because he could not see the moose at all through his binoculars or through the guide's Nikon scope. My friend was able (and willing) to travel for half a day to get within range to shoot the moose, which was the biggest moose taken in the Yukon in 2011 and one of the top 10 taken there ever. It's hard to over emphasize the importance of top quality optics, especially in vast wilderness areas like the Yukon.
Allan
Topic: Sheep hunting in the Yukon (Read 1519 times)
